U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,154 discloses apparatus for the treatment of sheet iron emerging from a galvanization bath in order to reduce the "spangle" produced on the sheet surface. The apparatus utilizes finely divided zinc particles or powder that is dispensed from a hopper in an air stream through spray nozzles onto a moving sheet surface. Continuous operation of the apparatus requires the periodic loading of the hopper with zinc powder. When the hopper-loading operation is conducted manually not only does a workman have the arduous task of lifting and dumping heavily weighted containers of powder but he also is exposed to the possibility of inhaling the dust particles that permeate the loading area.
It is to the amelioration of the above problem that the present invention is directed.